‘Indian fitness industry is in its infancy’

Educated in the science of human movement from the university of Port Elizabeth, Reebok's Global Master Trainer, Jannie Claassen constantly strives to bring greater exposure and an understanding of the mind-body connection and integrative fitness. The managing director of Reebok Instructors Alliance, South Africa (the fitness arm of Reebok), Jannie is a consultant to many international Reebok markets such as Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea and India. He spoke to Hansika Pal on the growing awareness of Indians towards their fitness, a development that spells business for his company. Are Indians getting more fitness conscious? During my first visit five years ago, I noticed very little health awareness. For instance, in places like Delhi and Mumbai I did not notice any fitness clubs or studios. After a gap of five years, I now notice there are a lot of fitness centres particularly in the metros and other large cities. The situation now is as different from the earlier one as day is from night. Studios are mushrooming and competition between businesses have started. Events such as workshops and a conventions have started. Last year, more than 90 instructors attended the Reebok resolution event in Mumbai, which would have not been possible five years ago. People in India are now realising that exercising is not just for disease prevention, but also for stress release. Where do you rank India vis-a-vis the developed countries as far as fitness awareness is concerned? Awareness in the health and fitness industry in India has grown manifold. India is coming on par with global standards. Five years ago, when we started the training programme in India, there were not many takers, but there is a big difference now. The growth in awareness has been tremendous. Although India's fitness industry is still in infancy, I would consider it healthy and promising. But more can be done with school fitness programmes, community fitness programmes and corporate programmes. Entrepreneurs should take the initiative and capitalise on this opportunity, fitness leaders should be identified and government should encourage people to get involved to make fitness accessible to all because fitness can change the lifestyle and attitude of people. What are the factors that have given rise to awareness in the fitness arena in India? Firstly, Reebok took the initiative to train instructors. It has in the last five years worked closely with the media to promote fitness and it is the only company which has helped the cause of fitness. Reebok had initially trained 14 instructors and today we have trained more than 350 instructors. Reebok presents training courses, continuous education events and demonstrations to instructors and consumers. The world has become such a small place and people became aware of fitness through technology. The value of exercise for health benefits is no longer questioned by the medical profession, exercise is becoming a necessity for longevity and prevention of certain diseases such as heart attacks and hypertension. Modern society creates tremendous stress and exercise is the best medicine for stress levels. What would be the future trends in the fitness industry? How do you see these changing over the coming years? As far as the current trends in the fitness industry go, there is today a lot of emphasis on fitness of body parts in isolation. But what is important is integration of body parts and working on the entire body as a whole is important. Current trends focus on the strengthening of the power zone or the trunk of the body, which will enhance the stability of that part. We at Reebok understand that the integration of the body parts is far more important. The body-mind-soul approaches are the latest trends. 301101